


Need Somebody To Love

by originella



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU - Non-Magic, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bottom Harry Potter, Business major Ron, Doctor Severus, F/M, Falling In Love, James and Lily are alive, Law student Hermione, M/M, May/December Relationship, No Voldemort, Remus and Tonks die, Rimming, SIRIUS IS ALIVE, Top Severus Snape, Virgin Harry Potter, medical student harry, no magic, snarry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/originella/pseuds/originella
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Harry is thrown a series of curve-balls after his graduation from The Stirling School - one of his father's best friends is murdered alongside his wife, his godfather goes crazy, his own father works too much, and his mother goes to care for his ailing grandparents. Not to mention the fact that someone thought that Harry would be decent guardian material for one Teddy Lupin, his technical uncle's only child. Now a medical student at the University of Cambridge, Harry must juggle fatherhood, his course studies, and an internship with the object of his affections, oncology researcher Dr. Severus Snape.
Relationships: Alicia Spinnet/Fred Weasley, Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley, Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley, Harry Potter/Severus Snape, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas
Comments: 7
Kudos: 197





	Need Somebody To Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PottersoftheFuture](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PottersoftheFuture/gifts).



Harry swirled around the shot of whiskey in his tumbler, barely noticing how much the color of the amber liquid corresponded with the wood grain of the table he currently occupied. That afternoon, he had finalized his plans with his four closest friends, married couple Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, plus Ron’s little sister, Ginny, and her fiancé Draco Malfoy, to head to a new pub in Downtown London. The pub itself was of the gay variety, and was called The Chamber of Secrets. Things had gone asunder, however, with Hermione being plagued with morning sickness, as she was three months along with the couple’s first child, and Draco had an emergency meeting with Malfoy Media, which he was due to take over upon his twenty-first birthday. Ginny, too, had work obligations, with her football team calling an emergency practice before going on tour in two weeks.

Harry had met the four of them at The Stirling School, a highly-acclaimed boarding school located in its namesake in Scotland. Ginny was a year behind the four of them, with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco being in the same year, and becoming fast friends almost immediately. When Ginny joined the school the following year, while the foursome was friendly with her, they didn’t see her as anything other than Ron’s sister, initially. However, after Ginny had spent the summer in France with her sister-in-law’s family, she returned for Year Eleven, Draco had been sufficiently distracted enough to ask her to dinner at The Portcullis, the haunt of all the students at The Stirling School, and Ginny, eagerly, accepted the invitation.

Ron and Hermione had begun dating after Christmas that year, and so it was only natural that they would all double date, with Ron glaring across the table at Draco if he so much as wrapped an arm around Ginny’s shoulders. Harry, for his part, happily played the role of third wheel as often as he could get away with it, but knew, deep down, not to take advantage of it. When they completed their end-of-year exams following Upper Sixth form, Harry, surprisingly, came in first, but Hermione, the resident know-it-all within their group of friends, couldn’t have been happier for him.

It hadn’t been a surprise to anyone that, during the commencement party for The Stirling School, that Ron had asked Hermione to marry him. After she had accepted, her mother and Ron’s mother had put their heads together so as the pair of them could marry and qualify for a joint flat at their universities of choice. Hermione was attending the University of Oxford to get her degree in law, while Ron was studying a business degree at Saïd Business School. Draco was also attending classes at Saïd Business School, in preparation for taking over Malfoy Media. Ginny had forgone college in pursuit of her football dreams, although she had promised her parents that she wasn’t closing the door on further education entirely.

Harry took a deep swig of his whiskey, happy that his friends had realized their dreams, but still found that the loneliness was eating away at him. Two of his other school friends, Dean and Seamus, had jointly come out as gay at the commencement celebrations, and had taken scholarships in education at New York University in the States, hoping for a fresh start. His other two close friends, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, had gotten engaged at Luna’s commencement, for she was in the same year as Ginny was. Neville was studying landscape architecture at Newcastle University, while Luna was going ahead with a degree in journalism and English literature at Northumbria University. They all had plans and lives ahead of them, and Harry couldn’t have been more proud.

Harry himself had been offered a scholarship at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, for, as long as he could remember, he had wanted to help people. His father, James, was Head of the School Board Committee for the Stirling School, while his mother, Lily, was a nurse at the Blandford Community Hospital in Dorset. With his father often away on business for the school, and his mother working long hours at the hospital, Harry had spent most of his childhood, and, later, his school vacations, in the care of Sirius Black, his godfather and his own father’s best friend. Sirius lived in Islington, at the ancestral family home of 12 Grimmauld Place, where Harry and his friends would stay during their school vacations. His father’s other closest friend, Remus Lupin, was a Year 5 professor at Harry’s primary school, Park School in Bournemouth, which just so happened to be where he met his future wife, Tonks, who was one of the reception professors there.

Harry slammed down the whiskey and signaled for the server to bring him another. He hadn’t felt this lonely in quite a long time. He remembered why he had wanted to study medicine, and that had come in the form of a guest lecturer in his chemistry class during Lower Sixth form. His professor, Horace Slughorn, had gayly informed the class that they would be seeing firsthand what his teaching could do, as the guest lecturer in question was a former student of his. Harry had felt his mouth go dry when the man in question, a Dr. Severus Snape, had swept into the room, all angles and pale skin, with flowing raven hair and a black suit that looked as expensive as one could get.

Harry had known he was gay when he had first seen Daniel Craig in _A Kid in King Arthur’s Court_ the summer he had turned fifteen. He knew before that, too, but seeing Daniel, larger than life, up there on the movie screen in Islington that summer had been something else. Now, as Dr. Snape made his way to the front of the classroom and looked over the crop of students, Harry felt his heart slamming repeatedly in his breast. Hermione had nudged him in the ribs, later telling him that it appeared as if he was close to drooling, and that would’ve never done.

Horace Slughorn ran a tight ship, but always wanted learning to be fun, and didn’t see a point in potentially demoralizing his students in any way. As a result, it was a fairly easy class for Harry to take, and it was Professor Slughorn that suggested a degree in medicine for Harry, given his aptitude for the subject of chemistry. It was Dr. Snape who sealed his fate, however, for Harry knew that he would do virtually anything to be near the man.

Harry thanked the server and slowly sipped the whiskey given to him; despite the day, he didn’t particularly fancy getting drunk. The real reason behind why he and his friends were going to get together that night was to celebrate the New Year. The year 2000 was, supposedly, going to be a great one, but Harry didn’t feel too great. He felt lonely and he felt hurt, and he couldn’t believe he allowed himself to feel that way at all.

It had been an amazing experience when Harry discovered that Headmaster Dumbledore, the head of their school, had requested that Dr. Snape be the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony for the class of 1998. Harry’s father, James, informed Harry about it when Harry was home for Easter, and it was a rare occasion when they were all gathered together. Lily had managed to get off work, Sirius was always there, and Remus and Tonks had come with their infant son, Teddy. Lily had scolded her husband when James had sneered about their school days, and Harry cursed himself for not making the connection previously that they must’ve all gone to The Stirling School together.

“He was a great bat,” Sirius had put in, already having had way too much of Lily’s specially made mulled wine.

“Greasiest git if I ever saw one,” James confirmed.

“The two of you really need to put your thoughts and feelings to bed,” Lily reprimanded them, and shook her head.

“He couldn’t have been all bad,” Harry said softly, taking Teddy when Tonks offered him, and soothed the six-month-old.

“He wasn’t, dear,” Lily told him, and smiled at her only child. “Your father just didn’t see eye to eye with Severus, unfortunately.”

“He was gifted, make no mistake,” Remus said quietly, ever the peacemaker, and Tonks smiled indulgently at her husband. “No one knew as much about the sciences as he did.”

Everything had come crashing down on the night of the commencement ceremony; Remus and Tonks had been shot to death in Remus’s car, with the police telling everyone that it was a simple case of mistaken identity. Sirius had gone off on a rampage, trying to find and connect clues as to who had killed his best friend, and it ended up consuming him completely, to the point where he was committed to Broadmoor Hospital. James, Harry’s father, threw himself into his work even more, while Lily, feeling neglected, took a sabbatical from work and had gone to visit her ailing parents.

Harry had shown up at the hearing for their last will and testament, for their barrister had informed him that his presence was mandatory. Picking at the suit that he almost never wore, he stood when he was called and approached the bench. He felt as if he was sweating, and his heart was beating erratically in his chest, and he had no idea what to expect.

“In the last will and testament of Remus John Lupin, and Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks-Lupin, they hereby bequeath Harry James Potter with full custody of Edward Remus Lupin, their only son,” said the judge, and Harry nearly collapsed there and then. “With the paternal grandparents being deceased, as well as that of the maternal grandfather, the parents of the minor child feel as if that Mrs. Tonks would be far too old to substantially care for a child in the proper manner. As such, they leave custody to Harry James Potter, as aforementioned, with trusts put in place to ensure a happy and healthy life for their infant, with money set aside for ample food, clothing, and education. Secondly, their residence in Cambridge is hereby handed over to Harry James Potter, which he is permitted to live in until Edward Lupin reaches the age of majority, or until they decide mutually to sell off the property,” said the judge, and Harry considered pinching himself to see if he was truly awake. “Next item,” said the judge, and Remus’s and Tonks’s barrister led him out of the room.

“Are you all right?” the man asked.

“Yeah, Mr. Scrimgeour, I think so,” he said, swallowing and looking up, where a middle-aged woman was walking down the corridor towards them, Teddy Lupin in her arms.

“You’re Mr. Potter, then?” she asked pleasantly. “Mr. Harry Potter?”

Harry nodded. “That’s me, ma’am,” he replied.

“Mafalda Hopkirk, agent from Sunbeam Fostering Agency,” she said brightly, and handed over Teddy to Harry, along with a small suitcase and baby bag. “Will you be all right?”

Harry shifted Teddy slightly in his arms, and the nine-month-old promptly put his arms around his neck, resting his head upon his shoulder. “Yes,” Harry said, feeling confident in a way he hadn’t previously anticipated. “We’ll be all right.”

Harry’s next move was to write a detailed letter to the housing department connected to the University of Cambridge, and inform them that he would no longer need his student designated flat, now that he had other pressing matters to attend to. The house in question had been where Remus had grown up, and where he and Tonks had lived shortly after the pair of them had gotten married. It was the only house that Teddy had ever known, and Harry wasn’t about to disrupt his godson’s world any further.

Upon arrival at Honeysuckle Cottage in Fen Ditton, Harry smiled to himself as Teddy readily squealed at the notion of being home again. Harry turned the key in the lock, which had been handed over to him by Barrister Scrimgeour, and looked around. He hadn’t been to the house since Remus and Tonks had had their reception in the back garden, when he was sixteen. It was a lovely property, he knew that much, and also knew that he would do his best as Teddy’s guardian.

Harry had his things moved into the house by the end of the week, and had gotten a list from Hermione of child minder agencies to ensure that Teddy was well taken care of when he was at his university classes. Teddy, for his part, proved just how resilient children were capable of being, and latched onto Harry accordingly. Harry began his first term at the University of Cambridge, and felt secure in leaving Teddy alone with Cho Chang, a pleasant young Scottish woman just one year older than Harry, who took a shine to Teddy immediately.

Harry decided by that Christmas that he would be adopting Teddy, but was told by Barrister Scrimgeour that he would have to be twenty-one before that took place. Harry understood the laws attached to such things, but it broke his heart that he couldn’t be Teddy’s father on an official basis. Teddy, for his part, acted as if nothing had changed, and continued babbling in his own form of language, calling Harry his “Daddy” every chance he got, and Harry didn’t have the heart to dissuade him. In fact, he admitted to himself that he loved it, as the concept of being someone’s father was something he had always wanted.

“You are his dad, mate,” Ron had told him.

“Don’t even attempt discourage him either,” Hermione said gently. “You could potentially hurt his feelings, and he’s such a good little baby already...”

Harry went along as he had been, doing his courses at Cambridge, and continuing to excel in all his classes. When he reached his second year, he was told that he would be assigned a hospital and a physician to shadow, and Harry, hands full with a one-year-old, merely nodded. The hospital in question turned out to be The Rosie Hospital, located quite near the campus. His heart nearly hit the floor when he found out that Dr. Snape would be the physician he would be shadowing, and counted his lucky stars because of it.

He arrived at the hospital on the first day of his shadowing, and explained his situation to a young receptionist by the name of Penelope Clearwater. Miss Clearwater was most helpful towards Harry, and directed him towards the lifts accordingly. Harry found Dr. Snape’s office without issue, and knocked upon the door.

“Enter.”

Harry reached out and turned the old-fashioned brass handle of the door and stepped inside, adjusting his messenger bag higher upon his shoulder. “Good morning, Dr. Snape.”

Dr. Snape turned and regarded Harry for a moment, his black eyes flickering with recognition as he stared him down. “You’re a graduate of The Stirling School,” he said.

Harry nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“First in your class, if I remember correctly,” the doctor went on with an amused smirk. “In my recollections of the day, I shook your hand at the commencement ceremony...”

Harry gave him a tentative smile. “That’s correct, sir.”

“Horace also spoke very highly of you,” Dr. Snape continued.

Harry let out a slight chuckle. “I think he overestimated my abilities, sir,” he said, always feeling slightly awkward whenever his achievements were mentioned, however remotely.

“I think not,” Dr. Snape told him.

“It was he who suggested that I go into medicine,” Harry volunteered. “In all honesty, I had no idea what my future plans were.”

Dr. Snape lowered his eyes to a file, which Harry recognized as his own, and his chicken scratch of writing when it came to the essay he was to put forth for the shadowing itself. “I see here that you have in your custody a young boy...”

“Yes. Teddy,” Harry supplied. “Teddy is the only son of my father’s best friend and his wife, who were killed in a case of mistaken identity at the beginning of the summer of 1998,” he reported, making sure his throat didn’t close up if he talked about it.

“You’re very young, Mr. Potter...”

“True, but they thought that Teddy would be happiest with me,” Harry said quietly. “Remus’s parents are deceased, as well as Tonks’s father, and her own mother is quite old and not in the best of health... She’s got stage four brain cancer, and has slipped into some pretty severe dementia at this rate,” Harry continued, shaking his head.

“That is most unfortunate for Teddy... Lupin?” he asked, catching note of his charge’s surname upon the paper, before he looked up, truly taking in Harry’s appearance for the first time. “I suppose I should have known. You are James and Lily’s son?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry replied. “I know you were in school with them... My father, I’m afraid, never quite outgrew his childishness,” he admitted.

Dr. Snape gave a stiff nod. “I heard about Black’s admittance into Broadmoor,” he said softly, and Harry was relieved that there was no malice in his tone. “Difficult not to, given my line of work, which I’m sure you can understand...”

“Everyone knows everyone, no matter what line of work you’re in, I suppose, Dr. Snape,” Harry told him with a small smile.

“How do you manage?” Dr. Snape queried.

“Manage?”

“With your studies, plus young Teddy, and now this internship,” he said.

“I’ve employed a wonderful caregiver for Teddy, and they get on like a house on fire,” Harry told him. “Teddy has a trust fund as well, with much of it set aside for childcare. Remus’s parents were accountants, so they taught Remus everything they knew. Plus, maths was always Remus’s favorite subject to teach,” Harry said, and felt a smile threatening to pull at the corners of his mouth.

“You appear to be managing quite well,” Dr. Snape observed.

“My own parents, no matter how much they love me, always put work before raising me,” Harry told him, wondering for a moment why he was so at ease with this man, as well as so willing to share details about his personal life. “I had to grow up and do it quickly. That’s not something I want for Teddy,” Harry said softly.

Dr. Snape nodded, obviously deep in thought. “Well, I suppose we’d better get started, shouldn’t we?” he said, and got to his feet, extended a hand to Harry, who took it. “Welcome to The Rosie Hospital, Mr. Potter.”

The next several weeks were a whirlwind of scheduling, too much coffee, snot and tears, and studying, when Harry actually got around to it. He loved being a parent to Teddy, and he equally loved shadowing Dr. Snape at the hospital. After six weeks, he had his first examination, given to him by Dr. Snape, and Harry was overjoyed when he passed. Teddy was spending his weekend at the Burrow, the Weasley family home, so Harry was expecting to go home to an empty house that night.

“What are your plans?” Dr. Snape asked as Harry gathered his things.

“Plans?” he asked, wondering if Dr. Snape was questioning him about the Christmas holidays already, which seemed to be a long way off.

“For dinner,” Dr. Snape said, and actually smiled.

“Oh,” Harry said, permitting a chuckle to escape his lips. “No plans. Not really.”

“I usually go to La Mimosa on Friday evenings,” Dr. Snape told him. “Would you like to join me?” he wanted to know.

Harry swallowed. “Is that allowed?”

“We’re both adults here, Mr. Potter,” Dr. Snape said with a small smile. “I hardly think that there’s anything inappropriate about sharing a meal together in a public place.”

Harry had to admit that the man was right, and he nodded his head. “I’ll join you, on one condition,” he found himself saying, and Dr. Snape readily smiled at him.

“What’s the condition?”

“Would you call me Harry? Please,” he said, feeling his face flush. “I feel like I’m going to turn around and see my father at any moment when you call me ‘Mr. Potter’...” He didn’t add, _In that sinful, dark chocolate voice of yours_.

Dr. Snape smiled at Harry. “Very well,” he said, putting on his black wool coat and matching scarf with a flourish. “But only if you call me Severus.”

“It’s a deal,” Harry found himself saying, and cursed himself for the juvenile expression, and clenched his teeth, hoping that his mentor wouldn’t think anything less of him.

Severus didn’t seem to think anything of it, and led Harry from his office and towards the car park, suggesting that he drive them to the restaurant, and would bring Harry back to fetch his own car when they’d finished eating. Upon arrival at the restaurant, Harry still shocked at the sleekness of Severus’s black Ford Consul Mk2, Severus parked in a spot close by the doors, and Harry’s heart nearly leapt out of his throat when Severus came around the car and let him out. It caused Harry’s breath to shorten when he reached out his hand, and pulled Harry flush against him, and Harry felt his cheeks bloom at the unexpected closeness.

Severus squeezed the small of Harry’s back briefly before letting him go, and Harry thought he saw reluctance flashing across the older man’s eyes. They walked towards the entrance of the white stone restaurant, and, once inside, were immediately seated at an intimate-looking table towards the kitchen. The aroma of garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil seemed to hit Harry’s nose simultaneously, and he nearly swooned at how delicious it all smelled. They were each handed a menu, and the pretty hostess informed them that their waiter would be along shortly to take their dinner orders.

Harry sipped at his iced water delicately, mulling over what Severus had said back at the hospital and it concerned him. “You said that you spent most of your Fridays here.”

Severus nodded. “That is correct.”

Harry pursed his lips, wanting to know why. “Not to be invasive or anything, but what about your family? Wouldn’t you rather be with them on weekends?”

Severus’s dark brows knit together at the unexpected intimacy of the question. “I was under the impression that your father and Black spoke to you about me.”

“About your school hobbies, and Remus mentioned how good you were at the sciences,” Harry told the man, wanting him to know what it was he actually knew. “That was all, really.”

“Surely you read what was out there of my biography...”

Harry tried not to smirk; he had, of course, read a profile of Severus when it had appeared in the _New Statesman_ during his final year at The Stirling School; he did not mention that he had kept the clippings, as well as the various photographs attached to it, of the man who had been the object of his affections for over two years. From what he had gleaned, the man was single, and lived alone, but his personal life, other than those two facts, remained just that, personal. “The _New Statesman_ piece was... Not very enlightening,” he said, and bit down hard on his lower lip, hoping he wasn’t being too impertinent.

Severus groaned and shook his head, obviously a bit embarrassed. “The photographer only succeeded in making my nose look bigger than it actually is,” he declared. “They even wanted to put a tagline before the article itself, comparing my nose to that of... Well, a not-appropriate body part,” he said, his cheeks flushing.

Harry nearly choked on his water, his mind automatically going where Severus was likely hoping it would not go, and the concept of the brilliant, beautiful man actually fucking him with that appendage... “So, in a follow-up statement, no. I don’t know about your private life that others who read that article do,” he managed to get out.

Severus steepled his hands. “My parents are deceased, and I had no siblings. My father was a drunkard, and my mother was subsequently beaten by him. She made me work as hard as I could to get an academic scholarship into The Stirling School, where she also attended, before her family disinherited her for marrying someone they deemed to be ‘normal’. My father, in addition to being a drunkard and an abusive husband, was a lowly factory worker. However, any spare quid he had went to the pub down the road from our council house, and my mother never said a thing about it, knowing that she would likely be beaten for it. Dad started on me when I began fighting back; of course, I didn’t have many opportunities to do so, as I was hungry more than half the time that I was at home, be it for the summer or for Christmas...”

Harry felt the lump rising in his throat the more Severus said and, before he could stop himself, he reached out and caressed the back of the man’s hand. “I am so sorry,” he said, hoping that the man would detect sincerity in his voice.

Severus gave a nod, accepting the apology from the younger man, before their waiter came by the table. Severus ordered the ham and melon to start, then the chicken with mushrooms in a cream sauce as his entrée, and finally the vanilla ice cream topped with espresso for his pudding. Turning to Harry, the younger man quickly ordered the toasted crostini for his starter, the steak and chips for his entrée, and three scoops of the toffee crunch gelato for his pudding. Severus ordered a bottle of mineral water for himself, and Harry chose lemonade as his own drink.

“Not drinking tonight?” Severus queried.

“I’ve never been a drinker,” Harry admitted, “but I did get royally pissed the night that Remus and Tonks...” He sighed.

“You were distraught,” Severus said softly.

Harry nodded. “Clearly. I’m just glad that the court date wasn’t until the end of the week. I don’t think they would have handed Teddy over to me if I showed up drunk.”

“Why medicine?” Severus asked, sipping his mineral water after it had arrived.

Harry blinked; no one had ever asked him that question before, just congratulated him when he’d made a decision about his further education, or told him that it was a more than decent career path to take. “Sorry?” he asked, tasting his lemonade.

“Why medicine?” Severus repeated, his tone patient.

Harry shook his head at him. “Sorry, I heard you the first time,” he said quickly. “It’s just that no one’s ever asked me that before.”

“They tell you that it’s a wonderful profession path, and praised you for making an executive decision when it came to furthering your education,” the older man guessed.

Harry blinked, amazed. “Exactly,” he replied.

Severus nodded sagely. “I rest my case.”

“It was my grandparents,” he said softly.

“Which set?”

“My mum’s,” Harry said quietly. “They passed away over the summer holidays, so I suppose one should be happy that they went together...”

“What did they pass away from?”

“Grandad had cystic fibrosis, and Nan had Alzheimer’s,” Harry said quietly. “Mum took care of them in their final months. They barely remembered her, but were always kind.” He bit on his lower lip, his shoulders hunching then. “I didn’t say goodbye...”

“Why not?”

“I... I just couldn’t,” Harry admitted, his voice cracking then. “They didn’t know who I was, and Teddy had a high fever, so it was a decent excuse to get out of it, I suppose...”

“Where are they buried?”

“Dorset,” Harry replied.

“Go to their graves, now that you’ve a week off from shadowing me,” Severus said. “You can’t carry this with you forever, Harry. The guilt will eat away at you, I know it.”

Harry nodded, knowing that the man was right. They talked about lighter things as their dinner progressed, and, when it was over, Severus made good on his word to drive him back to the hospital car park to retrieve his car. It came as a great shock to Harry when Severus not only walked him to his car, but kissed him goodnight. Harry eagerly threw his arms around the man and returned the kiss, before Severus pulled away.

Smiling down at him, the older man briefly yet softly cupped his cheek, and permitted the pad of his thumb to drag slowly along Harry’s lower lip. “Goodnight, Harry,” he said quietly.

Things seemed to progress quickly after that; when Harry arrived at work two Mondays later, and informed Severus that he had indeed visited his grandparents’ graves, his reward was immediately given. Shutting and locking his office door, Severus slammed Harry up against the wall and performed frottage upon him, and Harry almost immediately came in his pants, with Severus following a moment later. After they cleaned each other up, Severus asked Harry to dinner again, and Harry accepted.

It was the beginning of December when Harry finally worked up the courage to invite Severus over to the house on Friday, and the man accepted, given that their time in the shadowing program was now over. Harry left the hospital first that evening, paying Cho once he arrived at the house and thanking her for watching Teddy, before he saw to his son, who was doing a puzzle, and so Harry set to work on making dinner. He prepared a roast with potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, and roasted vegetables for dinner, and bread and butter pudding for pudding. Teddy, meanwhile, was running around the house excitedly, especially when Harry had informed him that they were expecting company for dinner.

Severus arrived promptly at six-thirty, and Harry, who had already finished setting the table and cooking, scooped Teddy into his arms and walked to the front door. Opening it, Teddy waved at their guest, and Harry was relieved when Severus smiled.

“Teddy, this is Dr. Snape,” Harry informed him.

“Daddy friend?” Teddy asked, and Severus smiled further.

“Yes he is, my little imp,” Harry said, and quickly motioned for Severus to come in and out of the snow, and shut and locked the door behind him. “Great to see you.”

“Hi, Dr. Snape,” Teddy managed to say.

“Severus is just fine, young Edward,” Severus informed him.

“Who Edward? Me Teddy!” Teddy proclaimed, and smiled broadly.

“Very well, Teddy then,” Severus said.

Harry set Teddy down and took Severus’s coat, hanging it upon the stand just inside the door. He took ahold of Teddy’s hand and guided Severus into the dining room, and hefted Teddy up into his booster seat. Harry indicated where Severus should sit and, once he did, nodded around the table and the dishes before them. “Please, help yourself,” he offered.

Severus ate everything put in front of him, and commended Harry’s cooking skills to no end. He even volunteered to clean up the kitchen, but Teddy wasn’t having it.

“No!” he yelled, banging his fist onto the table. “Teddy want Severus to read!”

Harry affixed his soon-to-be adopted son with a look. “Teddy, we talked about this, sweetheart,” he said gently to him. “You don’t order people around, nor do you shout. It’s not becoming, nor is it grownup behavior. Now, you are allowed to ask Severus whatever you like, but you must do so in a polite manner, and, should he say no, you must accept that.”

Teddy affixed his brown eyes, dewy with a shine of tears, onto Severus. “Severus, will you read to me, please?”

Severus smiled. “Yes, Teddy, if it’s all right with Harry...”

“Daddy?” Teddy asked.

Harry smiled indulgently. “Yes, it’s all right,” he said, lifting Teddy down and kissing him upon the forehead. “Go along, now. Show Severus to your room.”

As the pair of them left the dining room, Teddy animatedly chattering away, Harry smiled to himself and proceeded to clear everything up. He and Teddy were in the midst of the _Harold and the Purple Crayon_ books, and Harry hoped that Severus wouldn’t find them too terribly childish to read. He remembered the books from his own childhood, and had picked them up when doing a massive children’s book run within weeks of gaining custody of Teddy.

Harry was just finishing cleaning up the final bit of kitchen when Severus came downstairs and wrapped his arms around Harry’s middle. “How was he?” Harry asked.

Severus pressed his lips to Harry’s cheek, along his jaw, and then to his neck, which he nibbled and kissed simultaneously. “Out like a light before Harold even got to the North Pole,” the man confirmed, his lips never leaving Harry’s skin.

Harry dried the final dish—the platter that the roast had been on—and placed it in the drying rack, while leaning back into Severus’s arms. “Stay the night,” he whispered.

Severus turned Harry around then, and caressed his sides. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Harry whispered. “I’ve been sure since you came into Professor Slughorn’s classroom. I wanted you then, and I still want you now.”

Severus wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist, listening to directions on how to get to the master bedroom as he pulled them both there. Once inside, Severus softly shut the door behind them, and made quick work of divesting Harry of his clothes. His hands ran up and down Harry’s body, which was toned from regular workouts, and he smiled, especially at Harry’s shudder when his nipples pebbled beneath his touch.

Harry took the initiative and pulled Severus towards the bed, and yanked off his clothing as well, wanting to see the man almost as much as he wanted him inside him. “Top drawer,” he managed to get out as Severus suckled at his neck, and Severus pulled back, giving a small nod.

Severus dove into the nightstand, pulling the drawer open and taking out a tub of lubricant, and began slathering his fingers with the stuff before gently parting Harry’s legs. He was impressed with the size of the nineteen-year-old’s erection, but it was another part of the younger man’s anatomy that he wanted to see tonight. Gently lifting up Harry’s bollocks with his other hand, he stared for a moment at Harry’s hole, before he dipped his head downwards, caressing it with his tongue, and nipped around its edges.

Harry squealed at the dual sensations below him, his heart hammering in his chest at the feelings that threatened to bubble up to the surface. His fingers wrapped themselves into the duvet below him, and all he could do was make encouraging sounds to the man he had lusted after for well over a year. He let out a soft grunt of discomfort then as Severus slipped a finger through the guardian muscles, and met the man’s eyes as he lifted his head.

“Harry...”

“Yes?”

“Please tell me you’ve done this before...”

Harry swallowed, feeling his face flush before he shook his head. “No...”

“Not even at school...?”

“No, I...” Harry swallowed, knowing he had to tell the truth in this matter. “Ever since I realized it was you that I wanted, no one else really did it for me. And I wasn’t interested in anyone else anyway...”

“You saved yourself for me?”

Harry gave a small nod. “Yes.”

“Then I shall endeavor to make it wonderful for you,” Severus declared reverently, slowly inching upwards to press his lips to Harry’s once again.

Harry waited patiently as Severus continued stretching him, but found that he was more than ready by the time the third finger entered him. “Please... Now, please...” He whimpered, wanting this man more than anything.

Severus slicked himself up without hesitation and gently eased himself inside, holding Harry close to him as he did so. “Push against me,” he whispered, his voice husky. “It’ll make it better for you, Harry, I promise.”

Harry gave a small whimper, but nevertheless did as Severus instructed him to do. He proceeded to wrap his legs around Severus’s waist, urging him closer, until Severus’s own swollen balls slapped against his flanks. “More,” he moaned, once he’d gotten used to the fullness. “More, please more, Severus...”

Severus pulled out almost completely then before he slammed into Harry, setting a measured pace, which had Harry writhing against the older man, begging for more. Severus gave in to whatever Harry wanted, amazed that Harry could keep up with him so easily, and stroke for stroke, never having had such a responsive lover towards him before. He was ill-prepared for it, of course, but he was not about to let Harry go.

Harry let out a moan of appreciation when Severus reached between them, taking ahold of his engorged member and sliding his hand over it, pumping him. Harry proceeded to explode over both their bellies, and Severus followed soon thereafter, emptying himself inside Harry. He pulled the younger man close, pressing a kiss onto his forehead, wanting more than anything to stay just like this, no matter what the cost.

It was the incessant ringing of Severus’s mobile that disturbed them both, and he groaned, kissing Harry’s forehead one last time before getting out of bed entirely and somehow managing to locate his trousers. Slipping his hand into the pocket, he flipped the phone open and pressed it to his ear. “John,” he said, his voice riddled with a considerable amount of annoyance, which caused Harry to sit up, “what have I told you about calling me when office hours are over?”

Harry sighed, leaning back in bed, relieved that the man was a work associate.

“You’ve done what?” Severus demanded. “John Dawlish, you had better not be teasing me... You’re not serious?” he said, his eyes flashing with something akin to hope. “Amelia and Ludo are already on the case? Yes. Yes, of course I’ll get a red eye overseas as soon as possible. No, it’s perfectly all right, John, I assure you... No, I understand how important this is, and you need all the help you can get. All right. Yes, I’ll see you sometime tomorrow, your time. Goodbye.” Severus snapped his mobile shut and his shoulders slackened as he turned to Harry, crossed over to him, and kissed him deeply. “I’m so sorry.”

Harry sighed. “Work never ends. I understand...”

“I can’t not go, Harry. But, given the choice, I’d much rather...”

“It’s all right,” Harry told him, pressing a chaste kiss onto the man’s lips. He made a grab for his dressing gown, and indicated that Severus had to get dressed. “Can you tell me where you’re going, at the very least?”

“Brazil,” Severus replied. “There’s a lead on a plant in the Amazon that could potentially be a cure for cancer, and they need me for analysis purposes.”

Harry nodded, knowing just how important research for a cure was. “It’s no problem, really,” he assured the man, forcing a smile to his lips as he moved to show him out, once he was dressed. Harry accepted the hug and the kiss goodbye, and watched as the man walked through the snow to his car.

Looking up, Harry realized that he had completely zoned out, and was sitting in main room of The Chamber of Secrets Pub in Downtown London. Teddy, thank goodness, was at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur once again for the weekend, and Harry was supposed to have been partying. Shaking his head as the band walked in, which was a cover band of Jefferson Airplane, Harry sighed, fully coming to the conclusion that he was not having fun at all. All of his friends had lives, and Harry had a child, and a man, although he wasn’t altogether sure what his relationship status with said man really was.

Had Severus actually cared about him, or was Harry just a simple fuck? Perhaps the man had had more of a history with Harry’s father than he was led to initially believe, and it had all been a sick plot of seduction and revenge. Given that the man hadn’t contacted him since he left was a definite cause for concern. Sure, he was busy in the rainforest, but even a simple text message to let Harry know if he was all right would have been enough.

Harry gritted his teeth as _Need Somebody To Love_ was started by the band, and the crowd that had gathered was moving enthusiastically to the music. Shaking his head, he wondered why he hadn’t accepted Fred and George’s offer to come to dinner. Fred and George were the twin older brothers of Ron and Ginny, but Harry knew he would’ve been a third wheel again, due to their respective marriages to Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson.

Pushing the thought from his mind, Harry dug into his pockets for some pound notes and began counting them, and placed them upon the wood grain of the tabletop. Just as he made a grab for his coat and stood to leave, he turned towards the door, considering how he was supposed to navigate through the crowd, when what he saw shocked him. Standing there, just inside the doorway, was Severus Snape himself.

Harry shoved the stool back and charged forward, knowing that the man was there for him, given that his eyes had remained locked on him the entire time. “What are you doing here?” Harry demanded, his voice filled with shock.

Severus sighed deeply, before taking ahold of Harry’s arm and leading him outside and onto the snowy sidewalk. Turning back towards him, he pulled his scarf down from his neck, and Harry doubled backward at the sight of what appeared to be lashings along the man’s neck. Red marks dotted the surface, and Harry looked shocked.

“What...? What...?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Pit viper,” Severus said, his voice gravelly.

Harry was horrified. “Excuse me?”

“Attacked me when I was inspecting the plant that my team found,” he explained. “It all happened within moments of my arrival. John managed to call for medical help, and I was later airlifted to a hospital in New York.”

“Oh, my god,” Harry whispered.

“My superiors transferred me to the hospital at Oxford’s campus, where I met a young, pregnant woman by the name of Hermione Granger-Weasley,” Severus continued, and Harry raised his eyebrows. “I trust you’re familiar with her.”

Harry nodded. “I am.”

“She studied me for a case she’s working on having to do with medical law,” Severus explained with a slight nod, and Harry bit his lower lip slowly then. “Anyhow, she figured out who I was, and you came up in conversation. She told me how distraught you’d been, and I realized that it had everything to do with me...”

Harry flushed and lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry that she...”

Severus’s hand reached out then and tilted Harry’s chin up, gently rubbing it with his thumb. “I’m not,” he said softly. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, Harry, and I doubt I will ever again. I never thought I would want a partner and a family, but, seeing you with Teddy, and being with the both of you...”

“It was one night...”

“And one night is all it took,” Severus told him, smiling slightly, realizing that he had never been more sure about anything in his entire life. “I’m on medical leave for the foreseeable future, and I suppose I’ll have to look for another flat, as my current one’s lease is up, but, once I do, perhaps we can go to dinner...”

“You don’t need to look for a flat.”

“What are you saying, Harry?”

Harry smiled at him. “I’ve arranged to take courses online for the spring, because I can’t bear to be away from Teddy more than I have to,” he explained. “It makes perfect sense for you to convalesce at our house.”

“Does it?”

“It does,” Harry continued. “You seemed to want to be a family with the two of us... How are we to know that it’ll truly work out unless we live together?”

Severus smiled. “You mean that?”

“I do. And... Well, I’ll understand if you don’t want to share in parenting duties, but Teddy has really taken a shine to you, and I think he would benefit from having another father...”

Severus launched forward then and took ahold of Harry’s cheeks, staring deeply into his eyes with as much sincerity as he could convey. “I would love to do all of that,” he declared. “Raising Teddy with you... I cannot think of anything better.” He hesitated, but only for a moment, before he said, “I love you, Harry.”

Harry trembled. “You love me?”

Severus nodded. “I do.”

Harry let out a shocked gasp then. “I love you, too,” he whispered back.

It was then that Big Ben turned its massive black hour hand onto the twelve, and midnight bonged for all those in the surrounding area to hear. Harry felt his eyes fill with tears then as Severus wrapped him up into his arms and dragged him forward, pressing a kiss to his lips that was filled with hopes, dreams, and promises.

“Happy New Year, my Harry,” Severus declared.

“Happy New Year, my Severus,” Harry responded.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Honeysuckle Cottage: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-68064834.html
> 
> Severus's car: https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/Rover_P5_LUC_2732.jpg?itok=idnAPpXM


End file.
